Allen, J. A. (Joel Asaph), 1838-1921.

Stone, A. J. (Andrew Jackson), b. 1859.

American Museum of Natural History Scientific Publications

Article X.-DESCRIPTION OF A NEW CARIBOU FROMKENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA.By J. A. ALLEN.FOUR TEXT FIGURES.In September and October, I900, Mr. Andrew J. Stone madean important collection of large mammals for the AmericanMuseum of Natural History on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, in-cluding a good series of Moose (Alces gigas Miller), severalspecimens each of two species of Bears, and the head of the newtype of Caribou here described. Unfortunately the entire ani-mal could not be preserved. In recognition of Mr. Stone'simportant contributions to our knowledge of the distribution ofthe large game of northern North America, and particularly ofCaribou, it may be calledRangifer stonei, sp. nov.Type, No. i670I, 8 ad., head (skin and skull), Kenai Peninsula, Alaska,Sept. 24, I900; Andrew J. Stone.Adult Male, in September.-Front of nose back to middle of nostrils, chin,and edges of lower lip grayish or silvery white; top of the nose, from the whitemuzzle back to a point opposite the eyes, black, passing into dark (blackish)brown posteriorly and on the sides of the head to below the eyes; cheeks andthroat still lighter brown; a narrow space surrounding the eye and tear ductgrayish; top and sides of neck dark grayish brown, becoming lighter andgrayer at the base of the neck, and then abruptly darker in front of shoulders(skin of body not preserved); front of neck white, forming a longitudinalsharply defined band IOO to I30 mm. wide, of greatly lengthened white hair, instrong contrast with the sides of the neck; the white hair attains a length,along the median line, of 200 to 225 mm.M'easurements..-Mr. Stone's measurements of the animal in the flesh are asfollows: Total length 85 in. (= 2159 mm.); tail, 6 in. (= 152 mm.); tarsus,23 in. (= 584 mm.); height to elbow, 28 in. (= 7II mm.); height to brisket,31 in. (= 7I2 mm.); height to withers, 52 in. (= 1321 mm.).Skull.-The skull is narrow and slender in comparison with even that of R.montanus, and is further characterized by the slenderness of the antlers, especiallythe narrowness of the palmated portions, and the unusual development of thebrow antler and the anterior6branch.I43144 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. XIV,Fig. x. Ranxgfer stnei. About A nat. size.I9O1.] Allen, A New Caribou from Alaska I45COMPARATIVE MEASUREMENTS OF SKULL.R. mon- R. grten-R. stonei. tanus. Iandicus.a ad. a ad. a ad.Basal length..........................410... 420 375Tip of premaxilla to tip of nasal................. 125 I25 I15"alveolus of pl ..............146 148 121Length of nasals ........................ ....... ii6 123 IIIBreadth above m2 ..............,...,.II6 127 II5Zygomaticbreadth............ ............... 153 148 141Mastoid breadth............................... I58 I49 126Palatal breadth at ml .......... ................. 67 73 6iDepth of skull between antlers...................1II0 I12 94Upper tootbrow, crown surface.................. 95 99 98Diastema (canine to pi)............... ......... 72 72 55Distance between antlers below the burr.......... 68 78 64Length of mandible, incisive border to angle...... 310 330 280Angle to tip of coronoid ....................... . I35 148 148Depth atmg ................................... 37 38 32Length of lower toothrow I.....15 I03 97Diastema ...1.................. I24 130 100Antlers, main beam to tip, along curvature. I170 1235 1000greatest spread at point of palmation. 8oo 875 86odistance between tips of longest tines. goo 790 655"it" points attipof main beam 780 555 575Rangifer stonei is a striking member of the Caribou group,resembling R. montanus in its dark coloration, but differing inthe great development of the heavy fringe of white hairs on thefront of the neck, and its striking contrast in color with theadjoining portions of the neck. Should this prove constant itwill form an easily distinguishing mark. The antlers, fully illus-trated in the accompanying figures (Figs. I-4), from photographs,'recall in some respects those of the Barren Ground forms ofCaribou (including R. groenlandicus), but they are much heavier,with better developed and more numerous tines, a special featuireof differentiation being the large size and peculiar form of theanterior branch. The skull is long and slender, the facial por-tion especially narrow, the occipital broad, the nasals short, andthe lower jaw slender.l The photographs are made to the same scale as those illustrating my paper on the Moun-tain Caribou (fthis Bulletin, XIII, pp. I-i8), and I am indebted for them, as before, to the skilof Mr. J. Rowley.[May, 1g90] 10I 46 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. XIV,/iIfFig. 2. Rangifer stnei. About 11 nat. size.AAllen, A New Caribou from AlaskaleLq&'NFig. 3. Rangifer stonei. About Y nat. size.1901.] '47tt}' '< F f t g,, t- s9,'.W ../' jt.:@V;,i.'V'I 48 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. XIV,According to Mr. Stone the specimen here described is anaverage adult male, the hunters claiming that they often get muchfiner heads. Caribou, he says, are already very scarce on theKenai Peninsula, and will doubtless soon be exterminated, theregion being greatly frequented by visiting sportsmen, whilenative hunters kill the Moose and Caribou for their heads, dis-posing of them at good prices for shipment to San Francisco.Fig. 4. Rangifer stonei. About s nat. size.

New caribou from Alaska

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